David Tunley : Represented Artist

David Tunley was born in Sydney in 1930 and after schooling he
studied for the diploma of the Sydney Conservatorium, majoring in
piano. After graduating he entered the Sydney Teachers' College
for its Graduate Year and was appointed Music Master at Fort
Street Boys' High School where he remained for five years. During
this time he also studied for the external degree of Bachelor of
Music from Durham University (UK). In 1958 he was appointed
Lecturer in Music at the University of Western Australia where he
remained for the rest of his career, eventually being appointed
to the Chair of Music and Headship of the Department. He holds
the degrees of Master of Music, Doctor of Letters and an Honorary
Doctor of Music. He is now an Emeritus Professor and an Honorary
Senior Research Fellow in Music.

Tunley's international reputation as a musicologist (very largely
in French music) has tended to overshadow his reputation as a
composer. Despite this, he won an Australia-wide Competition with
his Two Preludes for Piano in 1962, and was awarded a
prestigious French Government Scholarship two years later to
study for a year in Paris under the celebrated teacher Nadia
Boulanger, an experience he describes as 'transforming'. While
studying with her, his Concerto for Clarinet and Strings
was completed and later performed by Jack Harrison (to whom the
work is dedicated) with the Strings of the ABC Festival Orchestra
at the 1966 Festival of Perth. His Wedding Masque was
conducted in a later Festival of Perth by Georg Tintner.
Nevertheless, time-consuming research and writing as well as the
multitude of activities (including choral conducting) associated
with his position as Professor of Music has meant that his total
output as a composer has been relatively modest. Whatever the
style of a particular work may be, most of them reflect his love
of expressive melody, colourful harmony and clear form. Thus, he
cannot be described as an experimental composer, except that for
him, every work poses its own new challenges.